Computing and network technologies have transformed many aspects of everyday life. Computers have become household staples rather than luxuries, educational tools and/or entertainment centers, and provide individuals and corporations with tools to manage and forecast finances, control operations such as heating, cooling, lighting and security, and store records and images in a permanent and reliable medium. Networking technologies like the Internet provide individuals virtually unlimited access to remote systems, information and associated applications.
As computing and network technologies have evolved and have become more robust, secure and reliable, more consumers, wholesalers, retailers, entrepreneurs, educational institutions, and the like are shifting paradigms and are employing the Internet to perform business rather than traditional means. For example, today consumers can access their bank accounts on-line (e.g., via the Internet) and can perform an ever growing number of banking transactions such as balance inquiries, fund transfers, bill payments, and the like.
Typically, an on-line session can include individuals interfacing with client applications (e.g., web services) to interact with a database server that stores information in a database accessible to client applications. For instance, a stock market web site can provide users with tools to retrieve stock quotes and purchase stock. Users can enter stock symbols and request stock quotes by performing mouse clicks to activate a query. Client applications can then query databases containing stock information and return appropriate stock quotes. Users, based on returned stock quote information, can thereafter purchase or sell stocks by supplying suitable information, wherein submitting buy or sell orders initiate database queries to return current pricing information and order status.
Based on the ever increasing use of computers and/or the Internet, numerous transactions related to goods, services, and/or commerce have become commonplace. Yet, with the vast possibilities of the Internet, a plethora of concerns and/or suspicions can arise for a user and/or client contemplating purchase of an item, good, service, etc., over the Internet. In particular, the level of trust or lack thereof related to a seller and/or buyer involved in a transaction is a major concern in light of the various complications that can arise in completing a transaction. Moreover, these Internet consumers and/or suppliers may need additional reassurance that ensures a potential transaction is to be completed based on a preference, priority, and/or importance.
Buying and selling merchandise and services via the Internet has become more widely accepted and more secure in recent years. Aside from established merchants and commercial retailers, individuals have found a marketplace online for shopping and/or peddling their new or used merchandise as well as seeking and/or offering a variety of services. For example, many employers seeking employees and those seeking employment have turned to the Internet for opportunities. Generally speaking, this marketplace can be referred to as an online classified listing and/or an online market place and many web sites specializing in this type of commerce currently exist. Most notably, eBay and Craig's List are two of the more popular sites. Nevertheless, national sites such as eBay lack the level of personalization that may be more closely associated with some more parochial sites, such as Craig's List. For example, eBay has traditionally focused on the ability to hold auctions across the country while Craig's List has currently adopted a message board type of framework that has a more local feel, but limits users to search only a particular metropolitan area. On either site, users are left wanting more. The national site can be too large-scale and imposing for new or infrequent users and the more local based site too restrictive in terms of scope and ability to attract buyers and sellers.
Currently there are no facilities to incorporate differential pricing schemes based on social standing in social networks into pricing frameworks. Rather there only exist facilities to provide pricing schemes that allow individuals to set a single price applicable to all potential purchasers. In particular, there are no facilities that accommodate the relative affinity that a potential purchaser might have with the individual to provide differential pricing based on their relative social standing within the social network.